It Is Not What It Looks Like
by underscore65
Summary: Bella has a painful past but recent events have her moving to a new country with her 'family'. After meeting the Cullen's on her first day of school in Forks, she isn't the only one with questions, but will she give out the answers they want? Only time will tell if this was a good move, or if she should have stayed where she came from.
1. Chapter 1

The house was beautiful, that's what Bella first noticed about it. It had a certain charm that just seemed welcoming and inviting, like she knew there would be good memories made here. The bright white of the outside walls contrasted with the deep green of the windows ledges, shutters and front door. The house was nestled on the edge of the woods, with foliage coming up to meet the backyard fence. The front yard had a small path leading up to the front door with a garden bench over on one side under a trellis of jasmine. Bella grinned as she took in the sight in front of her, determined to commit it to memory.

'Can I pick them, or can I pick them', a voice says smugly coming up behind Bella. She grins as she spins around to face her companion.

'It's wonderful Felix, truly, breathtakingly wonderful'. Felix grinned at her words, pleased that she was happy with the house he had picked.

'See, this old vampire still has use in him yet,' Felix joked back. Bella smiled at how easily he used the word. She was still dealing with it and the response it gave her, sometimes even hearing the word was enough to send her back to the painful memories, but the way Felix joked with it eased the tension and made it manageable for Bella.

He continued into the house, carrying the bags that he had pulled from their car effortlessly leaving Bella to help the final companion up the stairs. Bella turned to the young boy who had been trotting behind Felix, carrying his stuffed bear wide-eyed as he took in the sight of the new house.

'Come along Alec', Bella said. 'You can have first choice of the rooms.'

Alec ginned and reaching up for Bella's hand began the walk into the house. Bella had been unsure how Alec would deal with everything that was happening all the sudden changes must have surely confused him a bit. But he had enjoyed the long plane flight, and the car ride and he seemed to be adapting to his new house as well.

It took a while to settle in, but a few hours later not only had Alec selected his room, but most of their belongings were somewhat put away. Bella, Felix and Alec relaxed in their living room in front of the TV.

Bella's stomach grumbled, and Felix laughed.

'Okay food time for the hybrids', he chuckled going to stand up.

'Maybe I could cook today Felix' Bella asked. 'Last time you attempted to make a meal, it turned out quite inedible.'

'It's not my fault, I don't eat people food and so had no idea what is was supposed to taste like. Anyway, it wasn't that bad was it Buddy?' Felix asked turning to Alec. Alec's screwed up face of distaste was a good enough answer for Felix who slumped back into the lounge complaining about hybrids and their special needs.

See while Felix was a full vampire, both Bella and Alec where vampire-human hybrids. This resulted in them being able to process both human food and blood. They also had many characteristics of humans allowing them to blend into the human society better, while their skin was pale, it didn't sparkle in the sunlight, and their eyes stayed a normal colour no matter what they ate, a chocolate brown for Bella and a murky hazel for Alec. While their skin was rock hard and almost impenetrable, it was as cool, being just below the normal for a human. Their minds were like vampires, with the ability for perfect recall. The main difference was they were born and they aged like humans until they reached maturity around the age of 18. While Bella had reached maturity a long time ago, Alec was still young, roughly 3 and so, in this new town they had formed the ruse that Bella was Felix's sister and Alec was their nephew.

Felix and Bella had similar traits that made them believable as siblings, their dark brown hair had a slight wave and their faces shared similar shapes. Felix wore contacts to mute his red eyes resulting in a murky brown which was close to Bella's chocolate brown. The only main difference was the height difference, with Felix measuring 6" 3', and Bella reaching only 5" 7'. The only thing though that they had in common with Alec was those associated with their natures, Alec's hair was a dark blonde, and almost dead straight, his face rounder in his young age. Felix's age of changing was around 23 and so quite capable in the laws eyes of looking after his '17' year old sister and 3 year old nephew, who came for another sibling who died not long ago. This resulted in the three moving to a new location to start anew

As Bella was made her way to the kitchen she realised some important details.

'Felix', she cried. 'We haven't gone grocery shopping yet; there is literally no food in this house to eat.'

Felix sighed before reaching for his wallet keys and Alec.

'Looks like we are going to get our first taste of downtown Forks little buddy. You had better hold on tight and hope this all goes well.' He whispered to Alec. 'Come on Bella, grab your bag and we will hit the shops!'

Forks was not a big town. With its population Bella was glad to see it had at least a large supermarket in its main street. Felix pulled up in the car park and helped Bella get Alec out of his car seat. Both grabbing one of Alec's hands each they started the task of grocery shopping.

It only took Felix 10 minutes to admit defeat.

'The smell is too much Bells, can't you finish up and I'll wait for you outside?' He pleaded with Bella

'Fine' she conceded. 'But I get to choose whatever food I want with no comment about how it smells when I am cooking it this week.'

Felix nodded eagerly, pleased to be able to leave the store quickly. Bella sighed and looked at Alec sitting in the seat of the shopping trolley being entertained with a brightly coloured package he had pulled from the trolley. Bella grinned and continued grabbing food from shelves.

About 40 minutes later she had finished and was leaving the store with her new purchased food and a grumbling stomach. Looking into the piles of food in the trolley she realised she had broken one of the most important rules and gone shopping while hungry. Bella looked around for Felix in the car park, wondering if he would help load the bags and Alec into the car.

She spotted him on the other side of the car park talking with young boy, around 15, and gesturing towards what Bella could only assume to be one of the first cars ever invented. Waving at Felix he saw her and saying something quickly to the boy, began to run at human speed towards her. As he got closer Bella could see the wide grin on his face.

'What did you do now,' she wondered out loud.

'Shush you', Felix responded. 'While you were wasting almost an hour buying food products, I was securing you a sweet ride to get you to school tomorrow.'

Bella was shocked, and she didn't know if it was because Felix had bought her a car, or if it was because he seemed to be implying that the hunk of metal she saw was a sweet ride. She looked at Felix with questioning eyes.

'It's a 1953 Chevy pickup Bella, remember' Felix questioned.

Suddenly Bella was thrown back 40 years to the time that she and Felix had road tripped across Canada in a truck that was very similar to the one she currently saw and she understood Felix's eagerness about it. Bella turned and grinned at Felix.

'Of course I remember, it's perfect Felix. Thank you.' Felix grinned in response, pleased that not only did she remember but she was happy with his hasty purchase.

'I will just go give the kid so money for it and then you can drive it home,' Felix said before running back to the boy.

Bella manoeuvred the trolley towards their SUV and began unloading the bags into the boot. By the time she had Alec strapped into his seat Felix had returned.

'We will have to figure out insurance and all that paper work tomorrow, but you can drive it home', he said offering Bella a set of keys. She grinned as she took them from him before turning and walking towards her new car.

Bella took the for sale sign off the front windscreen, it really had been timing, the boy had only just parked the truck and placed the bit of paper on the window when Felix inquired about it. The door was a bit stuck, but it didn't take much effort for her part vampire strength to open in. The inside smelled like a mixture of gasoline, air freshener and the woods. She could tell that it had been given a rough clean, as while there were no obvious pieces of rubbish her eyes could pick out the dirt and dust that covered a lot of the interior.

Bella placed the key in the ignition and started the truck. The sounds that came from the engine made Bella wonder if Felix had been duped, but she knew with a bit of work she could get the truck moving perfectly. Slowly, so not to cause any accidents in her tank-like-truck she pulled out onto the main road and drove home.

By the time she arrived back at the picturesque house Felix had not only unloaded and put away the groceries, but he had begun to make toasted cheese sandwiches for Alec and Bella. Alec was sitting contently on the floor of the kitchen playing with some pots and pans while Felix bustled around trying to prevent disaster. Bella smiled at the image in front of her before attempting to save Felix from the mess he was creating. It wasn't long before Alec and Bella were sitting eating their dinner.

That night Bella and Felix fixed the new truck while Alec was in bed. Bella really enjoyed the quality time spent with someone she really considered her brother, which is why she dreaded going to school the next day. Due to some poor planning on her part they had arrived in Forks on a Tuesday, and because Felix was keen to get the makeshift family settled into the town as quick as possible he demanded that Bella start the next day. This resulted in Bella starting school not only in the middle of the term, but the middle of the week. And she was not looking forward to it.

As Bella was getting ready for bed she tried to avoid thinking about the torture that would be high school. Not that she had any real experiences to base her prejudice off having never attended high school, but she had completed most of the course content before so she knew she wouldn't have any troubles in that aspect, especially with her inherited vampire photographic memory. No what Bella was anxious about was the other students, and it wasn't long before she succumbed to sleep dreaming of face-less bodies in a maze of corridors and rooms.

The next morning, Bella awoke to muted light coming in her window. At first she wondered what had awoken her, as her alarm had yet to go off, but she noticed the small body curled up next to her in the bed. Often when Alec had nightmares, Felix placed him in bed with Bella, as her presence calmed him down quickly. Bella slowly lifted the covers of the small body and was met with wide awake eyes. Obviously the young boy had woken up himself and as waiting patiently for his sister to wake so they could play. Bella smiled down at him before tickling him. His giggles made her heart warm. For some unknown reason, even at 3 Alec had yet to speak and so Bella and Felix were always excited when he made noises like laughing. Picking Alec up gently she carried him to his room where she dressed him for the day, making sure he was rugged up nice and warm so he wouldn't get sick. She then took him down stairs so where Felix was getting breakfast ready for him. Bella raised her eyes at him suspiciously, but Felix shrugged.

'How much can I stuff up cereal and milk?' he questioned. He noticed Bella's sceptical eyes before throwing a cloth at her. 'Hurry up and get ready you don't want to be late on your first day.'

Bella raced back upstairs quickly had a shower and got dressed, aiming for comfort over looks not caring what the people in this small town thought of her fashion sense. She ate a quick breakfast of cereal, brushed her teeth, grabbed her bag and with a quick kiss on the cheek to Alec jumped outside and into her truck. The fine tuning that she and Felix had done the night before meant that it started first go, with minimal smoke and noise. Bella made the quick drive to Forks high school before parking her car and making her way to the office.

The bell that sounded as she opened the office door alerted the office lady who came bustling out from a back room.

'My aren't you keen, being her all early and such. What can I do for you miss?' the office lady, whose name badge read Mrs Cope, asked kindly looking at Bella through her glasses.

'My name is Isabella Swan; I am the new student here?' Bella said, making it sound more like a question than a statement.

'Why of course dear, I have you information right here. Let's see, your timetable, map of the school, locker number and current combination, and your information packet.' She said laying out all the pieces of paper in front of Bella. 'I thought you must have been a new student because I didn't recognise you face. Have a nice first day here a Forks High.'

Bella sighed; the small number of the school was a blessing and a curse. While there were less people here to interact with, there was absolutely no chance of sneaking in undetected. She smiled her thanks at Mrs Cope before picking up all the papers and stuffing them in her bag. Walking out of the office Bella realised that she was still early and decided to walk around the school a bit to get to understand its layout so she wouldn't have to walk around with her map out. She had just found her locker when the first bell rang and she made her way to her first class.

By lunch time Bella was unsure why she had even worried about school in the first place. Her first class had gone well; she had arrived on time, given the teacher her slip for him to sign and taken her seat at the back of the class. While she saw many boys looking in her direction with lustful glances, her vampire beauty seemed to have this effect on males; her natural aura seemed strong enough to scare them off without causing too much trouble. The only student she had spoken to was the girl who sat next to her in her 2nd period English class. Angela had kindly shared her copy of the text they were studying, not that Bella needed it having memorised Shakespeare's Othello many years ago.

As Bella approached the cafeteria though, the anxiety reared its head again. While she had avoided talking to people in class she understood it now put her in a very awkward position at lunch. But there was no escaping it, she was hungry and hadn't brought any food from home so she gritted her teeth and stepped into the room. She could almost feel the silence that fell over the cafeteria as she entered, everyone straining their necks to catch a glimpse of the new girl. Trying to ignore it she walked quickly, gathered a wide array of food before paying and taking it over to a spare table in a corner. The silence that had befallen the cafeteria was now filled with whispers about her. She tried to ignore them but her half-vampire hearing picked up many words. Unable to deal with the hushed whispers, Bella again picked up her food and carried it to some tables she saw outside. She was thankful it wasn't raining as she sat down and began eating her lunch.

When the bell rang to signal the end of lunch Bella rose from her table stuffing the food she hadn't eaten in to her bag and quickly making her way to her next class. Biology was in the building furthest from the cafeteria and so it took a bit longer to get there than she expect. By the time she had arrived the whole class was already seated. She excused herself and gave the teacher her piece of paper.

'Ah, Isabella, welcome to the class, I assume you had trouble finding your way. Don't worry about it, but please don't make a habit of it.' The science teacher Mr Banner said. 'Here is your textbook, please take a seat next to Mr Cullen, Mr Cullen could you please raise your hand.'

Bella turned and scanned the class for the boy she would be sitting next to. She gasped as she saw him, for her new lab partner, Mr Cullen, was a vampire.


	2. Chapter 2

Bella slowly approached the desk, placing her books on the table and sliding into her seat. Mr Banner began his lecture about cells pointing to different slides on his overhead projector. Sitting stiffly in her chair, she noticed Cullen's expression and she realised she didn't know his first name. For some reason, her instincts weren't as frazzled as they are with most of her interactions with vampires. Bella blamed the colour of his eyes; the gold of the animal drinker helped her distinguish from the bright red of her memories. Confident she was safe for the moment she turned to him and smiled.

'Hey I'm Bella,' she said trying to break the tension that Cullen seemed to be giving off in waves.

Cullen appraised her with his eyes for a few more seconds before composing his confused face with a tight smile.

'Edward,' he replied simply before turning back to the front and focusing on Mr Banners Lecture.

Bella didn't know what to feel, after she was brushed off so carelessly, because she knew that he had no need to devote much attention to what the lecture was about to actually learn something. He was a vampire for crying out loud. Bella spent the rest of the session changing between glaring daggers at Edward Cullen's head and looking at the front of the room whenever Edward seemed to catch her looking. As soon as the bell rang Edward was out the door. Bella took some time gathering her possessions before making her way to her last class of the day, gym.

Gym wasn't Bella favourite. It went against her nature to thrown the sports she played, her vampire state making her incredibly agile, fast and accurate. She considered faking an injury to get out of playing basketball with the other students, but was happy when the teacher gave her a reprieve for not having a uniform, deciding to save the injured excuse for a later date. Instead she sat on the sidelines watching the humans run around the court, trying to ignore the sound of the rising heartbeats that seemed to fill the room and echo around. Even though she was only half a vampire and herself control was superb, she still sometimes felt the burn in the back of her throat. It took but a brief second for her to gain back her control, squashing the burn thoughts of her favourite human foods, and she felt confident that she would be able to survive gym for the next two years without ripping anyone's throat out.

It wasn't long before gym was over and Bella was making her way back to the office to hand in her slip. She was greeted by Mrs Cope and after assuring her that she did indeed have a nice first day she left the building, eager to get home to Felix and Alec.

As she reached her truck she noticed Edward Cullen and 4 other people standing a few cars in front of her truck. Bella was confused at first before realising they were all vampires and tensing up. Her paced slowed as she contemplated running home to avoid it, but she knew that she could never out run a full vampire. Approaching her truck she took note of the people standing there.

In the middle was Edward, his tall lean body topped with bronze hair that was sticking in all different directions. To his left was a small girl, probably only 5"4' with spiky black hair that framed her small face, which was covered in a bright smile. To her left was a tall blonde male, Bella's eyes could faintly make out vampire scars which ramped up her anxiety even more. The change in emotions made the blond boy look at her, his eyes boring into her own. To Edwards right was another male, this one covered in muscle, he wasn't as tall as Edward or the blonde one, but that didn't make him any less intimidating, unless you looked at his face which was covered in a boyish grin. Finally standing next to the muscle man was a blonde girl, whose hair fell to her waist and contained the right combination of highlights and lowlights. Her face was set in a grimace as if she was displeased at the thought of being there.

Bella's observations all took place as she approached the group. She knew better than to anger them and tried to sneak past them wishing all the more that Felix had decided to come to school as well. The group however weren't going to let her get away easily. Blocking access to her truck, Bella was forced to make eye contact with Edward.

'Do you mind?' She asked, 'I kinda have somewhere I need to be.'

'What are you,' Edward hissed out after staring at her face for a few seconds. The question shocked Bella, she knew she was an irregularity something not commonly found, but surely a group of vampires this big would know about hybrids.

Carefully and quickly sidestepping the vampires she continued to her vehicle opened the door, happy that there were other students around to avoid anything too bad happening to her. She started the engine as the group stood there staring at her, before she reversed out of her park and stated to drive home. In her review mirror she noticed the group hop into a silver Volvo, before it took off in the opposite direction. Thankful she had avoided danger at this stage she raced home to Felix and the comfort he provided.

As Bella pulled up into the driveway she breathed a sigh of relief, thankful that the group of vampires hadn't followed her home and destroyed the serenity that the place seemed to offer. Grabbing her bag and heading inside she was assaulted before making it a few steps inside the door.

She grinned at the small boy that had run full pelt into her legs. Bothe Bella and Felix had been worried how Alec would cope with the separation from Bella, who he was very attached to, but looking at Felix's face She could see that the day hadn't been too bad. She scooped Alec up into her arms placing a kiss on his cheek.

'Were you good for Felix today?' Bella asked smiling as the little child nodded his head. 'How about as reward I make you favourite dinner?'

This seemed to make Alec more excited making his head movements get larger and quicker. Bella put him down in front of some pencils and paper with promises of dinner in a few hours before turning to Felix.

'We've got a serious problem', she said looking Felix dead in the eye. Felix sensing the seriousness grabbed her lightly by the arm and dragged her into the guest room which had been converted into an office.

'What do you mean?' he asked worriedly. 'Did you hate school that much? I told you that we could have claimed that you finished last year and then you could have stayed home with Alec while I went out for a job.'

'No it's not that, school was great, hanging out with people my own age, getting introduced to so many new experiences and interactions. No the problem that we face is closer to home.'

Felix eyes widened in understanding.

'How many', he asked.

'Five at school', Bella answered quickly. 'But there was talk of two more, they pretend to be a family made up of adopted children, there are mated couples in the group I think from what the gossip was talking about. But that's not all Felix, something was off about them, they have yellow eyes!'

At the last remark Felix relaxed.

'Boy, Carlisle has been busy,' he mused to himself out loud.

'Carlisle. Who is Carlisle?' Bella questioned.

'I forget that there are things from before your time', Felix said ruffling Bella's hair, making her more annoyed about the fact she didn't understand what was happening. 'I met Carlisle quite a few years ago; the eyes are yellow because they drink animal blood not human blood. It's not as fulfilling for us, but it curbs the thirst for a short while, never completely quenching it. Apparently it is thought to make our kind more civilised, allowing for larger covens and interactions with humans to be easier. Carlisle moved out to the states about 1860 and has shifted around the northern part since then.'

'I still think we should leave', Bella reasoned. 'Civilised or not I don't trust them, they didn't even know what I was. And at least one of them has been involved in a war of some sort, he was covered in scars.'

'Bella, it will be fine. The fact that they don't drink human blood means they can stay in a place for a long time, a couple years even. They pose no immediate threat and until I do I am not leaving. You deserve the full high school experience and I'll be damned, no pun intended, if you don't get it.'

Bella understood his reasoning, and knew that he had perfect right as head to dictate the actions of their makeshift family. Unable to come up with a logical counter argument, she decided to drop the discussion for now. Instead she simply nodded her head at Felix and went to join Alec back in the lounge room, marvelling at his drawings.

'I understand how hard it is for you Bells', Felix said softly coming up behind her. 'But not everyone is like them, you have to realise. There are good people and vampires out there, and the Cullen's may be some of the best. Just give them a chance and if anything is fishy I swear we will high tail it out of here.'

Again Bella nodded her head before turning and looking at Felix.

'I know you would never lead me wrong. And if you think they deserve a chance then I won't sneak away tonight. But if it comes to it, I will do what is right for me and Alec, even if it does mean leaving you here.'

'And I wouldn't have it any other way', Felix grinned back at her, before turning to Alec. 'Now, how about we turn on the TV for this little fellow.'

Alec excitedly got up from the coffee table he had been drawing on and raced over to the couch. Plonking himself in the middle of the cushions, he patted either side for Bella and Felix. Around 5 Bella excused herself from the TV and went to the kitchen to start on dinner. She got the mince out of the freezer for spaghetti meatballs, Alec's favourite meal, and as it was thawing in the microwave she contemplated the actions of the Cullen's.

It was clear to her that they had no idea she was a hybrid. She didn't know if it was because they had never encountered one before, or if they never expected to see one in their home town. What mainly confused her were their reactions. While the short spiky haired girl and the large muscled man seemed happy, the glares she had received from Edward and the two blondes were intense. Bella wondered if any of them possessed powers, and if they were blocked by her. Bella's power was a pretty strong mental shield. She was born with it, and had been trained over her life to control it, sending it out from her body, encompassing other people than her own. Felix didn't have a power, even though he claimed his 'devilishly good looks far surpassed that of an ordinary vampire', Bella was pretty sure that pig-headedness was closer to being his power than that. Alec had yet to show any power, but Bella was hopeful, there was just something about him that sent of a vibe that he was powerful. Lost in in her thoughts Bella continued to make dinner on autopilot, and it wasn't long before Alec was happily playing with his dinner.

As she was dishing her own food up, there was a knock at the door. Confused about who it could be, Bella nerves and instincts went into overdrive. She was starting to panic when she finally got a grip of herself. She bereted herself over being worked up so easily, it was probably just a neighbour popping around to see borrow sugar or whatever normal humans did. Fixing her face with a polite smile she opened the door. And was completely shocked to see who stood on her doorstep. There on the doorstep of her quaint little home stood all 7 Cullen's.


	3. Chapter 3

Bella was shocked to say the least she quickly observed their faces. She saw the 5 from her school and noticed a new face, and one that seemed vaguely familiar. The new face belonging to that of a woman who looked to be in her late twenties, her brown hair fell in waves and the smile on her face was filled with warmth. The face she vaguely remembered belonged to another blonde haired male. This one was shorter than the one from school, and his hair was sleeked back over his head. There was something about him that made Bella realise he was the head of the coven, and yet she felt no real fear from him.

Unsure of what to do, they all stood in the doorway for a few minutes before, Bella deciding to trust Felix stepped aside and gestured for them to enter.

'Felix', Bella called knowing she would feel a lot more comfortable if he was in the room with them.

Felix walked from the kitchen and took in the sight before his eyes. Not only was Bella standing in a room filled with vampires, but she looked relatively calm, something he had not expected considering her past. His eyes then evaluated the vampires taking in all of them and appraising them. He stopped when he got to the coven leader.

'Carlisle,' he said extending his hand for a hand shake. 'It has been too long'.

'That it has', the head of the coven, Carlisle, responded. 'Two hundred years? My they have just flown by Felix.'

'And what a wonderful family you have, it sure has grown over time.' At these words from Felix, Bella could see Carlisle tense up a little bit. Carlisle cleared his throat.

'Yes this is my wife Esme' he said motioning towards the brown haired lady with the warm smile. 'And my children; Rosalie, Emmett, Alice, Jasper and Edward,' pointing at the blonde female, muscle male, small female, tall blonde male and Edward respectively.

'Nice to meet you all', Felix said. 'I'm Felix and this here is my sister Bella.' The Cullen's nodded at Felix and Bella in greeting.

'How did you know Carlisle?' the blonde Bella now knew as Jasper asked.

'Italy', was Felix simple answer looking briefly at Bella. He saw her reaction at the mention the country and quickly steered the conversation away from it. 'And you five are at school?'

'Yes,' Carlisle replied. 'The five children attend the local high school. Rosalie, Emmett and Jasper are all seniors, Edward and Alice and juniors, like Bella. I work at the local hospital and Esme does interior design from our house.'

'Yes, Bella mentioned running into your children today, a bit of a shock for her. And at the hospital hey, never going to give up your idea of helping people I see.' Felix chuckled.

Bella observed the interaction between the two coven leaders, happy that Felix was taking control of the situation. The mention of Italy set of some memories, but she was able to deal with them without causing too much of a scene. She noticed, however, that every now and then one of the Cullen's would glance at her out of the corner of their eye and it made her uneasy. She came to the conclusion that they were still unsure what she was and were on guard against her.

Caught up in the dramas of the living room Bella forgot about Alec. Alec had finished mucking around with his food and eaten enough to feel content. Now he was ready for Bella to give him a treat for after dinner. Getting down carefully from his chair, he turned and wiped his face and hands on a tea towel before walking to find Bella. Walking out into the living room he noticed the seven strangers and instantly felt scared. They looked like the bad people from his nightmares. Searching the group his eyes spotted Bella and he quickly ran to her.

The emergence of the young boy had quite the reaction. Immediately the Cullen's all gasped as they witnessed what they thought to be an immortal child.

'What did you do Felix? Is this why you are here?' Carlisle questioned through clenched teeth as he crouched defensively in front of Esme his mate.

'No it's not like that at all, please just relax and we can explain.' Felix tried to reason. 'It's not what you think, can't you hear his heartbeat, see the colour of his skin. Blood flows in his veins; he is not an immortal child any more than Bella is.'

This baffled the Cullen's, who did not relax out of their defensive positions, as if waiting for what they though was the immortal child to freak out and attack everyone. Bella, clutching the trembling boy in her arms and trying to soothe his fear, rounded on the Cullen's.

'Calm down all of you, can't you see he is scared?' Bella spat at the family, attempting to ease the fear of the small boy.

Slowly moving to stand upright the Cullen's continued to throw question glances between Bella, Alec and Felix.

'What the hell is that thing then, if it's not an immortal child,' Jasper spat out through clenched teeth, trying desperately to control the emotions of the rom to stop any fighting breaking out.

'This is Alec,' Bella said in a voice that conveyed she was insulted jasper had called him a thing. 'And we are both hybrids.'

This did nothing to ease the Cullen's confused looks so Bella sighed.

'Okay follow me to the kitchen and we will answer your questions, while I eat dinner, and see what mess this little fella left in there.'

The group followed Bella to the kitchen and stood along the wall as she placed Alec at his seat, giving him the fork and instructing him to eat a few more meatballs. Getting her own dinner she sat down next to him and began eating. It sure was uncomfortable eating while being stared down by 7 different vampires, but Bella managed to finish her meal before taking her and Alec's plates to the sink where Felix began to wash up. Deciding to act like she didn't have an audience, she picked Alec out of his seat before taking him to the bathroom to wash his face and hands, by the time she had returned the washing and drying had been done thanks to Felix's super-vampire speed. She carried Alec to the lounge room placing him once again at his colouring in before sitting on the lounge. The Cullen's had followed her in, and she looked at them expectantly.

'You know I can't give you answers if you don't ask questions,' she told them.

'We have so many we don't know where to start,' Edward explained to her.

'How about I start at the beginning and if you still have any questions by the end of it I can answer them for you.' Bella reasoned while gesturing to the other seats in the room with her head, inviting the still standing Cullen's to sit. They must have been happy with the arrangement as they all sat looking intently at Bella ready, except for Rosalie who seemed captivated by Alec and his drawings.

Bella took a deep breath before starting.

'I was born in 1865. And I mean born. My father was a vampire and my mother was a human. She died when I was born. I grew like a normal human, reaching physical maturity around 18 years old. But my mind was more like a vampire's. At the age of 2 I could speak full coherent sentences, by 4 I was reading books well beyond my age. By the time I was 8 I had the same mental capacity of an adult, sure my people skills weren't that developed, but I could carry a conversation about politics, economics and law easily. A few years after reaching physical maturity I decided to start travelling the world, wanting to soak up as much culture as I possibly could. I was born in Italy, and so I travelled Europe, stopping in a new town or country and staying there for a few years, learning the language and culture. It helped me develop socially, gave me the ability to actually associate with other humans. My thirst isn't really there. The human side of me shies away from human blood almost completely. While I do crave it if I get to thirsty, I can be completely full with animal blood, or human food.'

'After many years travelling, I decided to head home to see how everything was going. There I met Felix. I hadn't met him before, but upon first sight I knew we would be best friends. Not soul mates' she said seeing the looks on the Cullen's faces, 'Kindred spirits, he had been bitten by the same travelling bug that I had.'

'We spent the next 50 years travelling, expanding far outside Europe, something I hadn't done. We went to Asia, Australia, and Africa, and even for a short time Antarctica. We then travelled out her to America. We have spent the last 20 years or so making our way backwards and forwards across the county. It's easy for me, because I don't shine so brightly in the sun, and Felix can often find night jobs or stay home jobs. Really life was great.'

'A year ago, I wanted to head home to check on how things were going. Felix wasn't too keen, as he was enjoying life out here far too much, but I convinced him it would be a short trip and before he knew it we would be back here. Upon arriving home I found out some strange news. Alec had been born. He was just a few months old when we found him, and he attached himself quite quickly to me, much like baby birds do. It took some convincing but Felix finally agreed to accept Alec into our family and so we picked him up and brought him back out here with us when we came back. We were living in a remote part of Canada before we went back to Europe and Felix wanted a change of pace, so we researched some places and decided that Forks would be our next place of residence.'

'So we flew directly to Seattle where we have a house. We ransacked it for the furniture and then drove up here a couple of days ago. That's pretty much my story.' Bella said finishing with a big breath.

The Cullen's had been silent taking in the information she was giving. Carlisle mind was whirling with the information she had told him about her hybrid body. Noting that she had finished her story he opened his mouth and began to ask questions.

Bella happily answered questions for the next hour from all the family. Some of the questions were quite normal and easy to answer; others were strange and took a moment to figure out how to word them correctly. The only time she really faltered was when Carlisle asked about her parents. She quietened quickly claiming it was time for Alec to be in bed before leaving with the boy in her arms rather abruptly.

Looking shocked, Alice who had asked the question gazed at Felix ready to apologise.

'Don't worry about it,' he said trying to reassure her. 'It's just a touchy topic for Bells; see she feels responsible for her mums death and anger at her father for abandoning her. Really anyway she looks at it she got the short straw of parents. And she is desperately trying to make up for it by being a good mum to Alec.'

'Yes about Alec, Bella said she could have conversations by two, and yet we haven't heard him speak yet, is something wrong with him?' Carlisle asked concerned.

'Yeah Alec is a bit of a mystery. We don't really know why he doesn't talk; he seems intelligent enough to, like he understands us and can give us answers to some extent. And he has been checked out, everything points to him being able to talk but he hasn't ever. The only time I hear him make noise is the infrequent times when he is laughing. When we found him he was crying, but he hasn't done that since coming with us. Bella is adamant that he never has a reason to cry.'

'Fascinating,' Carlisle commented.

A few moments later they heard the sounds of Bella returning down the stairs. She looked around the room as she entered before saying,

'I hope your curiosity is curbed for now, because I am tired, it is late and I have school tomorrow. Any further questions can be directed to Felix or saved for another day. Now if you will excuse me I am off to bed. Goodnight all, see you later.' Bella then turned and gave Felix a hug before returning up the stairs. It was quite for a moment until the vampire's sensitive hearing picked up the sounds of the shower going. At this Felix turned to the Cullen's.

'Yeah you guys should probably head off. But don't worry; we aren't going anywhere so feel free to return again tomorrow. Please don't pop by until Bella gets back, Alec gets a bit nervous when she isn't around and having 7 strange vampires probably wouldn't help that much.'

The Cullen's hastily agreed, all wanting another opportunity to see the small boy and his actions. They had been charmed already by his ways and were anxious to get to interact with him, Rosalie and Esme especially.


End file.
